Rudy Giuliani
Latest News on Rudy Giuliani
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- Candidate Status:
- Out
- Current Job:
- Lawyer, consultant (what kind?)
- Birth Date:
- May 28, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York
- Family:
- Married Judith "Judi" Nathan (2003-present); ex-wife Donna Hanover (1984-2002); ex-wife Regina Peruggi (1968-1982); two children, one step-child
- Religion:
- Catholic
- Education:
- Manhattan College, B.A., 1965
New York University Law School, J.D., 1968
- Career:
- Rudy Giuliani is the former two-term mayor of New York City. He ran for the U.S. Senate seat from New York in 2000, but was forced to drop out because of a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Giuliani's leadership during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks came to national attention, leading the media to dub him "America's mayor." Giuliani served as associate attorney general under Ronald Reagan and was a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York famed for his work against corruption and criminal gangs.
- Other facts:
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- Giuliani was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
- Giuliani's book "Leadership" has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
- Abortion:
- Giuliani says it would be acceptable to him if Roe v. Wade was either overturned or upheld. He says the constitutionality question should be left to the court, but that he would appoint strict constitutionalists to the Supreme Court. Giuliani supports a ban on partial birth abortions, but would allow exceptions to save the life of the mother. He opposes federal funding for abortions, and says it should be up to each state to decide whether to provide funding. Giuliani notes that when he was mayor of New York City, the number of abortions dropped and the number of adoptions rose.
- Energy/Environment:
- Giuliani would like to see greater use of nuclear power, more ethanol production, and cleaner coal. He has called for energy independence for the U.S. and would institute a national program to work toward that goal. He opposes a carbon tax, and has said the Kyoto treaty will have no impact on global warming.
- Immigration:
- Giuliani supports Bush's efforts to create a guest worker program. He thinks illegal immigrants already in the U.S. should be identified, go through background checks, learn English, pay taxes and penalties, and then wait their turn behind lawful immigrants to earn legal status. He often notes the terrorism risk created by not having secure borders. Giuliani says the U.S. should create a "highly technological" border fence, and likes the idea of having secure identification cards for immigrants. As mayor of New York, Giuliani allowed the children of illegal immigrants to attend public schools. He also encouraged people to report crimes, assuring them they would not be asked their immigration status.
- Iraq:
- Giuliani says that pulling out of Iraq would put the U.S. on the defense in the War on Terror. He has said the Democrats' proposed withdrawal was "highly irresponsible" and like handing America's enemies "a printed-out list of how we're going to retreat." Giuliani has offered some criticism of the Bush administration. He says the U.S. did not initially send enough troops, and that the decision to dismantle the Iraqi Army was wrong. He has also said the U.S. will likely be fighting in Iraq for a long time "unless there is some kind of miracle."
- Taxes:
- Giuliani is a believer in supply-side economics. He cut taxes 23 times as mayor of New York, and has said it is unfortunate he couldn't do more. He supports extending the Bush tax cuts, and would pass even more. Giuliani also supports the complete elimination of the estate tax.
- Economy:
- Giuliani is in favor of curbing non-defense spending. He wants to curb use of anonymous earmarks for federal expenditures, to require the Congressional Budget Office to provide cost estimates for legislation before the legislation is voted upon, to bring GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) to the government. He wants to reduce federal bureaucracies by eliminating federal civilian jobs upon retirement. Giuliani is in favor of the line-item veto. Giuliani views the promotion of science and math education as a way of increases America's competitiveness in a global economy. He also wants to promote worker retraining programs.
- Homeland Security:
- Giuliani wants to increase training for local, state, and private sector disaster workers for emergency management. He wants to encourage local leaders to form a "citizen auxiliary" of staff who can enhance disaster response. Giuliani wants to overhaul FEMA to make it more able to track and distribute relief supplies and to make it be less bureaucratic and more responsive to emergencies. He wants to encourage federal fund distribution to localities based on the probability of need.
- Education:
- Giulinai supports voucher and charter school programs. He plans to institute a program for children of active-duty military personnel that permits school choice through payment of tuition of private school or public schools to which the children are not assigned.
- Health Care:
- Giuliani proposes a Health Insurance Credit to low-income families that can be used in conjunction with Medicaid and private insurance funds to provide health insurance. He supports tort reform to limit medical liability in frivolous lawsuits. He plans an incentive program for states that prove innovative with health care solutions. He supports interstate private health insurance when state regulation makes private insurance too expensive. Giuliani supports streamlining drug-evaluating federal agencies so that new drugs make it to the market more quickly. He also supports investing in health IT to streamline information-keeping and reduce error. Giuliani wants to tie state Medicaid funds to a state's promotion of preventative care.
